A Texas Leaguer isn’t just a bloop hit. There are bona fide prospects on the southwestern Double-A circuit, and several of them will get a national spotlight this weekend.
The MLB Pipeline Prospect Showcase series heads to Double-A Springfield on Saturday for the Cardinals’ matchup against D-backs affiliate Amarillo. The game is scheduled to begin at 7:35 p.m. ET and will be carried live by MLB Network and MLB.TV, and streamed for free on MLB.com.
Catcher Rainiel Rodriguez is expected to be the biggest name featured in the showdown at Route 66 Stadium. Ranked as MLB Pipeline's No. 12 overall prospect, the Cardinals' top talent was promoted from High-A Peoria to Double-A at just 19 years old on May 12. After getting off to a slow start at the higher level, Rodriguez has been on a tear of late, hitting .317/.415/.574 with seven homers over his last 25 games before the All-Star break.
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The right-handed slugger first broke out last year with 20 homers over only 84 games across the Rookie, Single-A and High-A levels, and he continues to use that power to push quickly toward St. Louis. Rodriguez is one of only three teenagers to get more than 10 plate appearances at Double-A this season -- Jesús Made and Leo De Vries (the two top prospects in the game) -- are the others.
But baseball’s top catching prospect won’t be alone in the Springfield lineup.
Jesús Báez (STL No. 19) has been extremely hot since he arrived in the Texas League in late June with seven homers and a .677 slugging percentage over his first 16 games with the Cardinals. Deniel Ortiz (STL No. 22) is still finding his footing after a left wrist injury caused him to miss two months, but the 2024 16th-rounder still has above-average pop after last year’s breakout campaign. Won-Bin Cho is pushing hard for inclusion in the Top 30. Since his Double-A debut on June 23, the outfielder is tied for the level's lead with nine homers and he ranks second with a .784 SLG over 15 games.
COMPLETE CARDINALS PROSPECT COVERAGE
Cooper Hjerpe (STL No. 16) is expected to get the start for the home side. The 25-year-old left-hander missed all of the 2025 season due to Tommy John surgery, and after rehabbing in Florida, he returned to the Springfield rotation earlier this month. He allowed six runs over four innings in his first two Double-A outings of the year but struck out nine of his 22 batters faced (40.9 percent). Hjerpe sits 91-94 mph with his fastball, and shows a sweeper and a changeup with big horizontal movement in opposite directions from his low 4-foot release point.
The visiting Sod Poodles are highlighted by Demetrio Crisantes (AZ No. 4). The 21-year-old second baseman entered the week a career .318 hitter over four Minor League seasons, and after a delayed start to 2026 due to a hamstring strain, he hit .306/.393/.532 with four homers in his first 32 games in the Texas League.
COMPLETE D-BACKS PROSPECT COVERAGE
Luis was named to the most recent Prospect Team of the Week after hitting .471/.526/1.118 with three homers in four games at home in Amarillo while Torin, Jones and Barriga all earn at least above-average grades for their defensive work. Working behind the plate, Barriga has thrown out 34.6 percent of attempted basestealers between High-A and Double-A in 2026, a caught-stealing rate that should give Cardinals baserunners pause on Saturday.
Up in the Majors, both the Cardinals (50-45) and D-backs (49-47) came out of the All-Star break within three games of a National League Wild Card spot, meaning both organizations could be buyers at this year’s Trade Deadline to help their chances at punching postseason tickets. For fans beyond St. Louis and Arizona, that makes Saturday’s showcase an opportunity to check in on prospects who could be in play before the Deadline passes on Aug. 3.